Sidewinder
by Newton Ransom
Summary: Victory is an old friend of Mal's, with a small fleet of smuggling ships to her name. Genesis was one of the best pilots in the war, and is one of the thickest skinned women Jayne's ever dealt with. Better summary inside. Mal/OC, Jayne/OC
1. Victory? Or Not So Victorious?

Summary: Victory fought along side Mal and Zoe in the war. A warzone is no place for love, but that doesn't mean it doesn't still exist. Genesis left her family behind to fight for what she believes in, and is pretty thick-skinned because of that decision. She's never shown interest in anyone since she left her husband to fight in the war, but a certian monkey-like man has caught her attention. Mal/OCVictory, Jayne/OCGenesis. OC POV. The crew of _Serenity_ shows up in chapter 2. This story is in Victory's POV. Another one later will be from Genesis's POV.

**From the Author:** I don't own Firefly. I'd love to live in that world, however, and this is how I'm doing that. Mostly OCs in this story, so mostly mine. This is my first Firefly fic, I hope you enjoy it. Please review.

* * *

It's funny they named me Victory. Funny in an ironic sense. See, I never win anything. I lost the war, I lost my family, I lost most of my friends. But my ship is the one thing I've managed to keep. _Sidewinder_ is my baby. _Cobra_ Class, 05-K64. She was used as a cargo ship during the war. A _Firefly_ with guns. The war has been over for six years now, and _Cobra_s have practically disappeared. They were great machines during the war, but they weren't built to last. But, just like a _Firefly_, as long as you have a mechanic who's half awake, it's easy to keep them in the sky. It's not exactly a discreet ship. People see them and they always know what we're up to. I count five _Cobra_s I'm aware of that still fly, and I own two of them. I captain the _Sidewinder_ and I commander my other _Cobra_, _Whiplash_. I also own two Fireflies, _Echo_ and _Reality_. Since it's my name on the papers, I get to command the crews. Sounds powerful, but it means I have to pay for their mistakes. My crews are great, and they don't make many mistakes, but I can't get any legal work because we've stepped on too many Alliance toes.

***************************************************************************************************************************

We had touched down on Persephone. We were here a lot, mostly because it was big enough to have an abundance of work without an overabundance of Feds. I was half-asleep on the dock, soaking up the sun I sometimes didn't see for months at a time.

"Hey captain," my pilot, Genesis, said over the intercom. "I just got a wave from _Echo_, says there docking here in about twenty minutes."

"Thanks, Gen. Let 'em know where we are. Get down here, let's go find Badger, see if he's got some work."

"What about the rest of the crew?"

"We'll meet up with them later. Come on."

***************************************************************************************************************************

"Ah, Victory. Long time no see. I assume you are looking for work," said Badger, leaning back in his chair.

"You know I only come sniffing around when I need work, Badger. I have no other reason to grace myself with your presence," I said, sarcastically.

"It is me who is graced," he said, smiling at me.

I smiled back. "So, do you have a job for me? I've got _Sidewinder_ and _Echo_ should be docking right about now. I can do any job right now, big or small."

"Well, now that I've seen that winning smile of yours, I might. I've got goods I need out of here. I've got a buyer lined up on Jewel. Only problem is, nobody seems to want this cargo stinking up there hull."

"I'm sure they've got good reasons. How long have you been trying to get rid of this cargo?"

"It doesn't matter. You take this cargo, deliver to the buyer on Jewel, he'll pay you. Bring the money back to me and I'll cut you in. 30 percent. More, if you do an especially good job. Plus, this buyer is a seller himself. I'm sure he'll be willing to offer you a discount." he laughed. "Also, he's looking for a good crew himself. Do this delivery, and he'll line you up some more work, more your style."

"That's real generous of you, Badger. What's the catch?"

"No catch. I'm a real generous man."

"Sure you are. Let me see the goods," I said. He signalled to one of his men, who led me into a side room. Four large unmarked cargo boxes were sitting there. "All of this is our cargo?" I asked.

Badger nodded. "So, you'll do it then?"

"What's the payout?"

"100 per bin."

"And you're only gonna pay us 120? I don't think so. 140."

"120 is plenty generous. I'm giving you the opportunity for more work."

"And I'm sure there's some surprise waiting for us once we get airborne with that cargo. I want 140. Security purposes. If you can't promise me at least 140, I can't promise you these crates will get were they are supposed to."

"Fine. Just get these goods out of here, and to Jewel. Buyer is known as Trei. He'll establish contact with you within the week. Jewel is a two week journey, if I'm correct. Take the cargo, and I'd advise you to be off Persephone before nightfall."

Jewel is a barren wasteland. Nothing but flat desert for miles. The population of the moon is somewhere in the twenties. It's the perfect place for dealings of the illegal sort.

"Will do. Thank you Badger. As always, I'd rather not be doing business with you." Me and Genesis left, and met the rest of my crew back at the ship.

_Echo_ was docked next to my ship. "Hey guys, I've got us a job. Grab you're mule and meet me at Badger's. We've got cargo to pick up. I'll explain later. Genesis?"

"Yea captain?"

"Refuel, get any supplies we need, and make it fast like. Jay?"

"Yes commander?" Jay, the captain of _Echo_, said.

"Do the same. We need to have this cargo off Persephone before nightfall."

***************************************************************************************************************************

We split the cargo, two in my hold, two in _Echo_'s. I decided that would be best, in case we ran into trouble. Chances are, whoever we get in trouble with won't be able to grab both of our ships, and two things of hot cargo doesn't look as bad as four. My suspicions about the cargo was confirmed when Jay decided to open his cargo. "Alliance goods. Medical supplies, ammunition, food rations. Looks like they turned some larger passenger ships," he told me over the radio.

"Probably ticketed and tracked. Explains why Badger was so eager to get rid of it. Let's just get rid of this stuff as fast as we can. How fast can you guys get to Jewel?"

"About nine days," the pilot, Luke, told me.

I got on the intercom. "Gen, what's the fastest we can get to Jewel?"

"I can try for eight days, but we're gonna need to refuel there."

"We're gonna try for eight Jay. _Sidewinder_, out."

"I guess we'll see you there. _Echo_, out."


	2. Old Friends

**A/N:**I realize my first chapter, in short, sucked. I'm sorry. Sincerely. I've got a feeling it's not gonna get better. I'm trying though. I'm working on another fic, with more canon's and less OC's. Called Running Away. I've got a pretty good feeling about it, and I think it's gonna be alot better. This fic is really just my first run in the woods. I guess it's just me playing out my fantasies in Joss Whedon's 'verse.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, this takes place before the series starts, so Book, Simon, and River aren't with the crew. Sorry. And thanks to the person that reviewed.

* * *

I guess I should introduce my crew. On _Sidewinder_, you already know I'm the captain. Genesis is my pilot. She piloted this bird during the war. Dem is our mechanic. He doesn't have the brain to know his head from a hole in the ground, but he knows the workings of this bird like nobody's business. Hile is my first mate. We picked him up out of Alliance custody about two years back. He says he's a writer, and he wanted to chronicle our travels. I have a hard time believing it, since he doesn't seem to have an overabundance of education. But he was a medic during the war, and he fixes us up if and when we get injured. Granted, he was on the wrong side of that war, and we actually took him as a hostage, but turns out, Alliance don't want him back. He still has connections, and they can be useful if we get into a trouble spot on a rock we haven't already had trouble on.

On _Echo_, Jay is the captain. He's still a kid, he was a fresh recruit in the war. He's the youngest member of my crew right now, at 25, but he's one of the best I've got. Luke is a hired hand off the streets of Killian. He's alittle obnoxious, but he's a good pilot. Nikki is a former companion. She started stealing from her clients and lost her guild certification. I went after a bounty on her head, but she offered to pay me of more than the bounty was. Of course, with a bounty on her head, every other bounty hunter out there was after her, so we took her on the ship to protect her. She's pretty good at finding work. Little odd jobs for us. Mostly petty theft, but work is money, and we like money. Mige is the mechanic. She is Dem's twin sister, and is pretty much a female version of him. Bret is the muscle of the crew. He's smart, too. Probably could've been a Fed if kissed some Alliance butt.

* * *

"Captain," said Dem at supper. "Once we're on Jewel, I'm gonna need to replace the right fuel combustion cell. That's gonna put us landlocked for a few days while I hunt down the part. I've been trying to put it off 'cause we ain't have the time or money for a repair like that, but the rush to Jewel is gonna push it to breaking."

"And if we don't replace it on Jewel?" I asked.

"Then if we need to run from anything, we ain't gonna be making it far. This boat will be crawling along," he explained.

"Then I guess we need to get it fixed. Gen, how's our course looking?" I turned to her.

"It's looking smooth Vic," she said, her mouth full.

"Any word from _Echo_ since we left Persephone?"

"Yeah. I got a wave 'bout an hour ago, Luke says they're ahead of course by a few hours."

"It would've been nice for you to tell me that."

"I just did. Anyway..." She was interrupted by the proximity siren. "I should probably go check on that," she said, and I followed her to the bridge.

"What have we got?" I asked.

"That's a _Firefly_, but it's not one of ours. Should I try and make contact?"

"No need to," I said as a wave came in over the com.

"This is _Firefly_ vessel _Serenity_, captain Reynolds, requesting communication."

"Captain Reynolds, this is _Sidewinder _captain Kress, accepting communication."

"Captain Kress, we've blown a vacuum in our life support system. I'm not keen on asking for help, but if we don't replace that hose, we'll have nothing to breath in a few days time."

"Well, captain Reynolds, I'm not to keen on giving help, but that's a mighty fine ship you've got. Tell you what, we'll be touching down on Jewel in four days time. If you can make it that long, we'll help you out there. Until then, use some duct tape or something."

"Thank you, captain Kress. _Serenity_, out."

* * *

We gave the _Serenity _crew the welcome we expected. We opened our bay door to them, the four of us lined up with guns waiting for them. Captain Reynolds and his crew stood there with their hands in the air. "Mal?" I lowered my weapon.

"Victory, Genesis, long time, no see. I can't believe I didn't recognize you by the ship. I feel like an idiot," said Mal.

"It's no big deal, Mal. Nice bird you've got. I've got one. Should be joining us within the hour," I said.

"This is my crew. You know Zoe. This is Wash, our pilot, and that's Kaylee, our mechanic, and this is Jayne, our muscle," he said, indicating to the crew around him.

"Nice guns," Genesis said from my left. That man had to be six feet of solid muscle.

"Thanks. This here's Sally, and this one's Jenna," he said, pointing to the guns strapped to his hip and leg.

"Yeah, those too," She said. I turned to my crew. "This is the rest of my crew. Dem is our mechanic, and Hile here's my first mate."

"What, no muscle?" Zoe asked.

"I've got more than enough muscle for this crew. Ah, here's my _Firefly_," _Echo _was touching down. "Well, Mal. I've got a job to do. Mige, my _Firefly_'s mechanic, has the vacuum part for you. I was expecting a fee, but since you're an old friend, I'll let it slide."

"If it's any trouble for you to part with it, then I won't mind paying for it," Mal insisted.

"Don't worry about it. We stole it anyway," Hile had the mule loaded and pulled out in front of us.

"Sorry to break up this reunion, but we've got a timeline to keep," he said.

"Right. I'll catch up with you later," I told Mal, getting on the mule.


	3. All Sorts of Emotions

"Badger told me you were reliable. I'm glad. He also told me you're one of the best arms runners in the 'verse. Is that true?" Trei was grey haired and battle scarred, with an eye patch over his left eye and three fingers remaining on his right hand.

"That's what I've been told," I said.

He laughed. "I like you, Captain Kress. Here's the money for the cargo. Alliance didn't give you any trouble, did they?"

"Nope. Didn't hear or see hide nor hair of them."

"I have a job proposition for you myself. I need a rather large cargo of arms run back to Persephone. I'm assuming you're heading back that way anyway, to give Badger his cut. Now these weapons are real nice. Military issue, fully automatic, no spring trigger, so it's unlikely to jam, very little kickback, ammunition-less laser and very illegal. Think you could get these to their destination?"

"Sounds like my specialty. I think I can, but I'm gonna need some security for a shipment like this. Kinda hard to talk your way through Alliance checkpoints with large quantities of illegal weapons in your hold."

"Right. These weapons sell for around 500 each in a good market, so how does 4400 sound?"

"Hold on there, Trei. I'm a very intelligent woman, and I know that's not even a quarter of what this guns are worth. I think 5000 should get these where they are supposed to go."

"That you are," he laughed. "How about 4000 and I give you one of these bad boys?"

"I don't think you understand how bartering works. The number is supposed to go up until... Whoa." He had pulled out one of the guns. "These things sell for 500 you said? That's understandable. Make it two guns, call it even?"

"If these guns don't make it to Persephone in the same condition I give them to you in, you'll meet your end by one of them."

"They will. I think we're done here then?" I said. He nodded. "Alright. Hile, Bret, load up the mule."

* * *

"You trading now?" Mal asked as we pulled back up, the mule loaded again. His crew and my crews were sitting around a bonfire, barbecuing. Night had fallen and they seemed to be getting along well.

"No. I finished one job and got another one. I'm assuming you're smuggling, since you've got a _Firefly_?"

"You always assume the worst. Can't I make an honest living?"He acted offended.

"So that's a yes?" We shared a laughed.

"What about you? I mean, you've got a _Firefly_ yourself, and that _Cobra_ is a cargo ship, last I checked. You can't tell me what your doing is legal?"

I cocked the gun Trei had just given me. "Far from it. Right now, I'm gun running. I just took on a load of these babies."

"Nice gun," said Jayne.

"Yeah black market military issue fully automatic ammunition-less laser powered. I manged to get two of them. I wish I could've gotten more of them, but we needed the money. I might be willing to sell you one."

"Can I try it?" He asked. I handed him my gun.

"Dem, how much do you need for that part?"

"I can probably grab it from a scrapyard for around 400," he said.

"Here's 600, just in case. Go first thing tomorrow. We need to get back to Persephone ASAP. I'm too pretty for jail."

"Aye, captain," Dem nodded.

Kaylee offered me a plate. "Thank you. So, Mal, how have you been?"

"I'm good, you know? Bought this ship, and I've got a great crew, and I'm just kinda flying around space, picking up whatever work comes my way," he said, between bites of his mystery meat barbecue.

"Me too. I'd much rather being living in the sky than on some moon, having the Alliance control my every move."

Jayne was in the background whooping. "I think he likes that gun," Mal said.

"I can't say I blame him."

"So, what kind of work do you do? Other than gun running?"

"Well, occasionally, if I can find a deal, I'll sell guns instead of just running 'em. I do some smuggling and salvaging, if there's a good enough payout. I make most of my money bounty hunting."

Jayne was back. "That gun is gorram awesome. How much do you want for it? Mal, gimme some money for the gun," he ordered.

"How much do you want for it?" Mal asked.

"500."

"I'll give you 300."

"450."

"200."

"Why is everyone having trouble with this whole bartering thing today? 400, final."

"I've got 380," said Mal, after counting his money.

"It's fine I guess. So Jayne, do you have many guns, yourself?"

"I've got lots. You wanna see them?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Maybe some other time. But I'm sure Gen would take you up on that offer."

"Vic!" She elbowed me in the ribs.

Jayne turned to her. "Do you?"

She laughed, a high pitched, girly laugh that wasn't her own. "That depends. How drunk can you get me?"

He laughed and she left on his arm. I shook my head. "I guess the girl deserves to have herself some fun." I watched them walk away, towards _Serenity_. Half way there, Nikki decided to join us from _Echo_. She gave up her companionship to be a thief. I agree that the latter is more rewarding. She says 'ain't' and spits, and I've seen her slit more than her share of throats, but she's still a companion at heart. She walks with a confident elegance, no one can help but stare. I've caught my own jaw on the ground a few time, so I can't say I was expecting anything other then for Jayne to notice her from nearly 100 yards away. What I wasn't expecting was his reaction.

"Hey, you, you _qiang bao hou-zi de pigui_. You owe me money!" He shook Gen off his arm and watched Nikki. She kept heading towards our campfire. He followed her back and got in her face, seizing her by the collar. "You stole from me."

"And you from me." She smiled her seductive smile.

I stepped in. "Jayne, do you wanna remove you're hands from my crew member?"

"Not 'til she repays me," Jayne growled.

"Right. I'm sure there's some interesting back story here. Jayne, you ain't gonna be getting your money back. You should consider yourself lucky she didn't slit your throat while you had you pants around your ankles. Now I've gave you more than a deal on that fancy gun you're toting. Think of it as her debt repaid. Now let go of her."

He let go of her collar, and seized her arm. "Then how 'bout I get my money's worth?"

"Gen's more than willing to give you that. Now, if you don't step away from her, I'm gonna lay you out, but it ain't gonna be the way you want."

He let go of her and walked away growling and grumbling.

I didn't need you're help." Nikki could never just accept my help.

"Fine. Next time an angry, 6 foot something ape-man wants to tear his money's worth from you, I'll sit back and watch. You know, let you be a whore. Tell me one thing though. Were you government sponsored or freelance when you pissed him off?"

"Does it matter? What's for dinner?"

"Mystery meat barbecue burgers. Enjoy." She took a plate and went to sit as far away from me and Mal as she could.

"I don't think you've made a life long friend, getting between Jayne and his bounty," Mal said.

"And the worst part? It was all in vain. She's all defensive now, but once Gen's back on my ship, she'll probably be on yours."

"Habits are hard to break. Who exactly is she?"

"Hm? Oh, that's Nikki. She's a whore, if you didn't already get that."

"What's her story?"

"Well, she was a Companion. She started taking more than her clients were willing to give. Lost her guild registration because of it. Apparently she took too much from someone, and he put out a bounty on her. I got to her first, and she paid me off. Of course, if I didn't kill her, someone else out there would, so I took her in to protect her. She helps find odd jobs, and her, uh, presence, is pretty useful. Of course, pretty often I'd like to toss her out the bay door midflight, but she finds ways to change my mind."

"You're all heart."

"I do what I can."

* * *

Next morning Gen was back on the ship, her neck showing her conquests of the night before. "Busy night?"

"Aye, Captain. Talk quiet, please," she said whisper-like. She was covering her eyes.

"Good thing we ain't flying today, huh?" I wasn't trying to be quiet.

She made to sit down and missed, knocking over a chair and making tons of noise. "Son of a _ben tian sheng de yi dui rou_."

"Well, that's shiny. So I'm assuming Dem's gone. He ain't in the engine room, and he ain't in his bunk. With any luck, he'll find us that piece and have it in for us tonight, so we can get off this rock tomorrow."

"Do we have to leave so soon, Cap? I think these guys, friends of yours, could use some company, ya know?"

"I meant to talk to Mal about that. I should have plenty of time to, today. Hopefully he ain't run off yet."

I went outside to find I was lucky, he hadn't. He was ready to, though. "Hey Mal. You guys all fixed up? We're landlocked for another day, minimum. Sure you don't want to hang around, soak up the sun? Plus, you could find yourself some work while you're here. It ain't hard."

"I don't know. Don't like the idea of sitting around to long. Makes me feel vulnerable."

"Mal, you'll be fine. Ain't no harm gonna come you're way while you're sitting at the bottom of this crater."

"I guess it can't hurt to stay one more day. Saw your mechanic, by the way. That's a working boy you've got. Barely even daybreak, and he's running that mule out to town."

"Yeah, he's dedicated." Mal's agreement to stay another day gave me the strangest feeling, one I hadn't felt in a long time. I wasn't even in the conversation anymore.

"Want some coffee?" He asked, indicating to a kettle in his hand.

"Uh, no, thanks. I'm gonna, go. Into town. Get some food. It would be a nice change from molded protein." I stammered. I needed to get away from him because I wasn't breathing right, all of a sudden.

"I could come. I'd like to see some civilization, for a change," Mal offered.

"You ain't gonna find civilization on this moon." I stepped into _Echo_'s bay. "I'm gonna steal you're mule, go into town. Anyone want to come?"

"I'll come," offered Nikki.

* * *

**A/N:**So this chapter was used to introduce some of the more key characters and to develop relationships. And yes, Gen does jump atop Jayne first chance she gets, but it does develop into something alittle more complicated. I know it moves really bad, I'm starting to get writer's block on this story. If anyone wants to help me, I'm more than willing to take the help. I'll give credit. Just PM me and we can discuss ideas. Thanks for sticking with me this far, and this one is probably going to sit for a while, but I will get back to it as soon as the creative juices start flowing again. I do have ideas for this story still, I just can't figure out how to link them.


	4. Poker Face

**A/n:** Special thanks to** _mindless-junk-247_** and** _RionaEire_ **for helping me get the ball rolling again. I was completely moonbrained without their help, and now it's 3:30 in the morn' and I'm still awake because I need to get this all down before I forget. I'm running on lots and lots of orange aid. I've noticed, and it might just be me, that people are talking differently. I have no idea why. No intentions, and I've tried to set it straight and I can't. Oh well, off on another whirlwind adventure.

* * *

Me and Nikki, we're not even in town ten minutes and she starts harping on me. "Why can't we stay on a half-way civilized planet for a little while, so I can make some money? I'd like to have some spending money, and you're pulling everything I make on jobs to supposedly pay for my living expenses on the ship."

"I ain't pulling everything. You're pocketing plenty, from the jobs you actually help on. In case you didn't know, you don't get paid for sitting nice and safe on the ship. When you sit for too many jobs, you get paid less once you do do a job, to make up for what you haven't earned off the other jobs."

"That didn't even make sense."

"You get paid for what you do. If you don't do anything, you don't get paid. Did you understand that?"

"I think I should be getting paid regardless. Maybe not a percentage off of what you earn for jobs, but at least a wage. Your crew abuses my services enough."

"That's your choice. You want them to pay, make 'em pay. You want them to stop abusing your services, stop letting them." I was getting annoyed.

She grumbled under her breath.

"Sorry, didn't catch that?"

"Nothing, Commander." I like being called that. It doesn't actually have a lot of meaning, not from Nikki at least, but it still makes me happy.

"Explain to me why we have to be on a civilized planet? As I recall, you're not a Companion anymore, so why does it matter?"

"I'd appreciate clients who can pay."

"Aren't clients if they don't pay," I pointed out.

"_Bi zui, hur ban dao ta ma de pigui_."

"Not gonna get yourself any favors, mouthing off to me."

"Sorry. It was out of line."

"Admittedly. Anyway, we'll be back on Persephone in about ten days time, maybe then you can find yourself some payin' work."

"And we'll be staying a decent amount of time?"

"Should be. Oh _go-se_." Mal and his crew were in town. Mal waved to me, awkwardly. I don't think he knew he was doing it, 'cause he suddenly pulled his hand down and looked away.

"What's the matter, Vic? Oh, it's captain Reynolds. He's all dreamy and the like, isn't he?" Nikki was teasing me.

"_Bi zui!_ He's an old friend, that's all."

"Oh please. Remember I trained as a Companion. I can read you like a book. You've got feelings for him."

"So what? It's not gonna go nowhere, might as well ignore it."

"Why? I mean, why won't it go anywhere?"

"This is the first time I've seen him in four years. When we get on that ship to leave tonight, chances are, I ain't gonna see him again for another four years."

"Why not try your odds? I mean, it's not like the feeling isn't mutual."

"What? Mal isn't interesting in me. He ain't interesting in no one. Never has been." I could feel my face reddening.

"It's written all over your face that you don't believe that. Not for one second. No, I think you and he had a thing once." I tried to hide my reaction, but she was too good. "You did! Come on Vic. Rekindle that old flame. You deserve it."

"_Bi zui!_" I said again. Mal was now within earshot.

"Hey, Victory. I came into town anyway, obviously." Mal was talking awkwardly, like his brain wasn't giving him time to think about his words before they came out of his mouth.

"That's fine. I think there's a bar up the road. Only thing there is to do here."

"Sounds good." Nikki had circled around so she was standing behind Mal. She was gesturing and speaking silently, but I ignored her.

Jayne and Gen had beat us there and were sitting at the bar. We took a booth. "First round's on me." I headed up to the bar and I ordered a bottle of sake. "Hey," I said to Jayne and Gen, trying to get their attention. They were buried in each other'snecks. I knew better than to touche either one of them, 'cause they'd I'd get an hand or cheek bone broken.

"Oh hey Captain," said Gen, when she came up for air.

"Feeling better?" I asked, refering to her hangover this morning.

"Yeah. What're you doing in town?"

"Came for a drink." I pointed to the booth where Mal, Kaylee, Zoe, and Nikki were sitting. "Care to join us?" This time, I shook the bottle of sake in my hand. "Grab some of these cups." She and Jayne followed us back to the table.

"So, where are you headed, once you leave tonight?" Mal asked. At our table, Jayne and Gen were back at it.

"Persephone. What about you?"

"We've gotta make a pit stop on Orulla, then I'm headed to Persephone also."

"Really? Maybe we'll run into you again," Nikki said, smiling at me across the table. I kicked her.

"We'll be staying on Persephone for two or three weeks, if things go according to plan." I tried to not sound overexcited.

"Maybe we will run into you, then." Mal hid a smile behind his cup of sake.

Kaylee tossed a deck of cards onto the table. "Wanna play?" She offered.

"I'll deal," Zoe offered.

The deal was loser bought the next bottle.

I had a decent hand, but I folded the second I saw Mal frown. It was only the slightest change in his face, but it was his tell. He had a good hand. Zoe held her ground. She must've had a good hand, 'cause I knew she was smart enough to see Mal's tell. Kaylee folded. I don't think she had any intention of playin' her hand. Nikki studied everyone at the table before she made her choice. She held, an unsettling smile across her face.

"Gen? What're you gonna do? Gen? For God's sake. Will you two cut it out and play?"

"Sorry Captain." She looked at her hand and raised her eyebrows. "Hell, I fold. I ain't stupid."

Jayne's smile matched Nikki's in the eeriest way. They all showed their hands. Jayne had two pairs, and the worst hand.

"Do you even know the object of poker? Go buy us another bottle of sake, _pigui_." Gen pushed him out of the booth.

Sake disappears fast with seven people, no matter what time of day it is.

"Another round? Who deals?"

"I'll do it," Nikki offered. Zoe handed her the deck.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that, if I were you. When Nikki deals, she amazing always wins," Gen said, taking the deck. She was dealing the cards, when she noticed Jayne was still at the bar, flirting with the maid. "What the _ta ma de_?" She stalked off to the bar.

"Little harpie just do your job and give him the gorram bottle," she said to the bar maid.

"Hey Gen, we was just talking. No harm," Jayne defended. He grabbed the bottle and stood up to go back to the table.

I started collecting the cards to get ready to go, 'cause I had a feeling we wouldn't be welcome here in a minute.

Gen had grabbed him by the front of the shirt. I couldn't hear what she was sayin', but he put his hands up like he surrendered. She didn't let go of his shirt and he grabbed her hands, to trying make her let go.

"I don't want to hear it!" She was yelling.

He was trying to calm her down, and failing miserable. She clocked him in the side of the face. She then moved onto the barmaid. Before she got a chance to swing at her, Jayne seized her around the waist and dragged her back to our booth. He stuck her next to me and sat so she was stuck in between us. She was spewing a creative line a cusses, but was sitting content.

"That went better than I expected. Hoe much has she had to drink?" I asked Jayne.

"She only had a beer before yousgot here." He touched his cheek where she had hit him. The skin was split a little, and it was obviously gonna bruise.

I dealt out another round as Kaylee went to grab our sake from the counter.

"What just happened?" Mal asked, once his cards were in hand, as though he had just processed the scene.

"Gen's real territorial. Did the same thing to me last time I sat in the pilot's seat," I laughed.

We were onto out third bottle, courtesy of Nikki, when Gen punched Jayne in the side.

"What the hell!"

"You looked at her."

"Great. I've got me a whole bunch of crazy."

"I ain't crazy. I just know what's mine."

"What? I've known you for a day!"

"Mal, you want any cards?" I said, bringing everyone back to them game.

"I'll take two."

Gen went to take a sip of her sake. I took it out of her hands. "You've had enough. You're flying tonight, and I ain't letting you kill us all."

I knew she had too much when she took a swing at me. And missed. "I think it's time for you to go back to the ship."

"I can stay here cap'n. I won't drink no more."

"No more hittin' either."

"No more hittin'," she agreed.

Bottle number four found Gen and Jayne back at peace with each other, even though she wasn't drinking, and our arrangement at the table switched. I somehow ended up between Mal and Nikki. We couldn't keep a game together any more, so instead we were sitting around joking.

"You deal with Badger, right?" I asked Mal.

"Yeah," he laughed.

"That wasn't the punchline." He laughed again. Apparently I had suddenly become really funny.

"Have you even notice, on the shelf behind his desk, there's two wigs."

"What?"

"Wigs, yeah. Women's wigs. A fuchsia one and a bright green one."

"Why?"

"I've never gotten a chance to ask him. Think I will next time I see him. Bet there's an interesting story behind them."

"Do you remember that time, back in Basic, when we made the new recruits were the wigs?"

"Oh my god, yes! That was great."

"What happened?" Kaylee asked.

"Back during basic training, Vic and me were in charge of a group of fresh faced recruits. One day we got 'em all good and drunk, and we were at this bar when the opened karaoke. Now behind the bar, they had a bunch of, like, these go-go wigs. All sorts of strange wigs. Somehow, Vic here talked the bartender into letting us borrow them."

I picked up the story. "We convinced the kids that they had to put these wigs on and go sing karaoke up on the stage. Me and Mal, we put superglue in the wigs, before they put them on. Well, next morning, we've all gotta report to the sarge."

"This was before I was a Sergeant," Mal explained.

"Well, they can't get these wigs off, so they tuck them up into their hats, trying to hide them."

Mal picked back up. "One of 'em goes to salute and knocks his hat off, revealing this bright blue wig. The sarge was furious. Makes everyone of us take our hats off. He's got a whole platoon of rainbow haired kids. Of course, he knew who was behind it, since me and Vic were the only ones not wearing wigs."

He looked at me laughing. "It's like the angel's singing."

"What?"

"When you laugh."

"What did he do?" Zoe asked.

"Well, what could he do? Damn things are superglued to their heads! These kids ran around, stuck in these wigs for near a week before one of 'em figures out to shave 'em off!" Mal finished.

My radio went off. "Captain, It's Dem."

"What's up, Dem?"

"_Sidewinder_"s running again, good as new. Luke says there's an Alliance cruiser, justoutside of atmo on the otherside of the moon. What should we do?"

"Guess it's time to get going. Meet you back on the ship."

* * *

"He complemented you."

"He was drunk."

"Doesn't matter. Drunken slurs are still from the heart. Alcohol just helps them come out."

"It was nothing."

"He complemented you. It's not nothing."

"It wasn't a complement."

"I'm paraphrasing here, but he said, 'Your laugh is like the angels singing'."

"Drop it Nikki." She was harassing me over the 'com.

"No. I'm not dropping it. You should be happy. When we see them on Persephone, get back with him. The flames obviously there still."

"If, not when. And no way!"

"I get it. You're afraid of commitment."

"Let me talk to Luke."

"What's up, commander?" Luke said.

"What's your ETA for Persephone?"

"A good ten days, at a steady pace. Don't want to push it."

"That's fine, as it looks right now. Any sign of that Alliance cruiser?"

"That's a negative. We've gotten lucky."

"Gorramit, Luke!"

"What?"

"Didn't they teach you in flight school, never use the 'l' word?"

"What, lesbian? Liberal? Um, lion? Ooh, laceration. I like this game. What else? Hm, licorice. Um, legs."

"I ain't sayin' it. Make it worse. Alliance might shoot you down, but it ain't getting this ship."

"Oh, you meant luck."

"_Sidewinder_, out."

* * *

"Captain, touchdown for Persephone will be at 11 am." Gen said over the 'com, waking me up.

"Send a wave ahead to Badger. Check in with _Echo_."

"Alrighty captain."

"What's the ETA on breakfast?"

"We've got two hours until Hile even crawls out of bed. His turn to cook."

"Oh." I looked at the clock. "Why in the black did you wake me up at 6 am to tell me something you could just as easily told me at breakfast?"

"Felt like it." I stumbled back to my bed and went back to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Action starts next chapter, if that's what your waiting for. Should be up soon. I'm working as fast as I can. Would've had this up sooner, but I went bowling with my mother, so I didn't get a chance to finish it until now. There was another section to this, but it was irrelevant to the story, and I decided to cut it since it's already getting too long. All it was was time passing on Persephone, and acknowledgement that **_**Serenity**_**'s crew had arrived on Persephone also. So, the next chapter is picking up with them already on Persephone, with the jobs they had to do already done. Oh yeah, the joke about the wigs in Badger's office, it's true. Watch the pilot episode, when they are in Badger's office. You'll see them behind his desk, if you haven't noticed them already. ****One last thing, time is passing fast, but that mostly on the ship. What's going on in the ship isn't important to the storyline, so times flies by. I'd hate to bore you with unnecessary details and the like.**


End file.
